Love's Complicated
by FangirlingForLife
Summary: They say young love is complicated, but it's even more complicated when you're in love with a student. R
1. New Beginnings

**Disclaimer: I do not own High School Musical or Disney unfortunately!:( **

Gabriella sighed as she made her way through the huge doors of East High her new school, the halls were huge and the corridors were well polished. Glancing at her timetable and map she eventually made her way to her new homegroup. This wasn't a new experience for Gabriella, almost every year she'd had to move schools due to her Mum's job and every year had been the same thing over and over again, making new friends, settling down finally and moving again. This year Gabriella had given up on the idea of trying to make friends, she was happier alone anyway.

Gabriella knocked on the door to room 207, noticing a middle aged woman giving a lecture to a room full of sixth formers. She quickly rushed to the door and let Gabriella in.

"Ah you must be Miss Montez, welcome to East High, I am Ms Darbus your new homegroup tutor" Ms Darbus said warmly before looking back at her homegroup.

"I except you all to make Miss Montez here very welcome, please take a seat Gabriella" She continued, Gabriella chose a seat at the back near a blonde girl and her twin who were staring at her and whispering making Gabriella feel slightly uneasy.

"As its your first day back I've decided to leave my Shakespeare discussion until tomorrow morning, use this period wisely" Ms Darbus said before returning to her desk where she read through some papers.

Gabriella pulled her headphones and ipod out and began listening to music, only to be interrupted a few seconds later.

"Sorry, you're not allowed to have your ipod out in Ms Darbus' lessons" The blonde girl said, standing in front of Gabriella's desk with her her twin brother.

"Oh right" Gabriella sighed, stressed out already.

"I'm Sharpay by the way, and this is my brother Ryan"

"Oh hi, I'm Gabriella" Gabriella said bluntly, though the two didn't even notice so they pulled two chairs up to her desk and sat by her.

"You have your timetable yet?" Ryan asked.

"Yeah, though I have no idea where to go for anything" Gabriella said, being more friendly this time, they didn't seem that bad.

"Ah, so who do you have for math?" Sharpay asked curiously.

"Mrs Philpot" Gabriella answered hoping she'd have them in her lesson, she didn't want to be lonely.

"Oh shame, you're in the top set, we have Mr James"

"Top set, girl that's amazing!" Ryan said praising her, Gabriella giggled slightly.

"Who do you have for English?" Sharpay asked next.

"Uh Mr Bolton" She answered, Sharpay and Ryan clapped.

"Same, he's the new guy, apparently he's a hottie" Sharpay winked.

"Who's a hottie?" Another guy asked approaching them.

"Oh, just you sweetie" Sharpay replied to the guy, kissing his cheek softly as he pulled a chair over and sat next to her.

"Gabriella, this is my boyfriend Zeke, Zeke this is our new friend Gabriella"

"Uh hi" Gabriella said with a small smile.

The rest of their free period was spent getting to know each other. Finally the bell had finally rung leaving Gabriella extremely lonely during her free period, everyone else seemed to have lessons.

Gabriella exited her new homeroom as the younger students began piling into the classroom. She walked along the empty corridor putting in her headphones in her ipod, completely unaware of the man walking straight towards her engrossed in his book, the two collided right in the middle of the corridor both in shock.

"Oh my gosh, I'm so sorry!" Gabriella cried before she sat up.

"No, totally my fault" He apologised as he stood up, their eyes met and for a second neither looked away.

"I'm Troy, Troy Bolton new head of English" He said holding his hand out to help her up she took it gratefully, smiling as she stood.

"I'm Montez, I mean Gabriella Montez I'm new too"

"It was a pleasure meeting you Montez, you should go I don't want you to be late for your first lesson" He said sincerely, though deep down he knew he would like to find out more about this girl, something about her intrigued him but he couldn't quite figure out what.

"I actually have a free period" She replied picking up his book and handing it to him their hands touching gently, Gabriella swore she felt a spark as they touched, she just mentally shook her head.

"Me too, I should probably go and find a better place to read my book than the corridor eh" Troy joked.

Gabriella read the title of his book as he held it in his hand "The great Gatsby?" She asked raising her eyebrows.

"It's a classic!" He answered before they were silent.

"So I'd better go and learn my way around the school, don't want any more collisions" Gabriella said laughing slightly but with truth in her tone, she really didn't want to get lost.

"Sure, I'll see you around, Montez" He said smirking, his heart sinking a little as she walked away. Gabriella walked along the corridor, looking back once more to see him walk away she smiled to herself as she turned the corner, she couldn't wait until her next English lesson.

* * *

Gabriella sighed as she entered the girls bathroom, maths had gone okay. She'd met a nice girl called Taylor who'd made her feel pretty welcome and in history she'd sat with Zeke and they'd got on quite well but none of these people seemed to replace her old friends.

She quickly applied a bit of lipgloss and touched up her foundation before she exited again to find a suitable place for lunch. She walked outside onto the grassy bank filled with millions of unknown faces until she heard someone calling her name, she spun round to find Sharpay waving at her eagerly, she immediately walked over to the table and took a seat opposite Sharpay, on the table were Ryan, Zeke and another unfamiliar face.

"Gabriella, this is my girlfriend Kelsi, Kelsi this is Gabriella" Ryan introduced as Gabriella sat down, Kelsi gave Gabriella a shy smile.

"So hows your day been so far, aren't you just loving East High?" Sharpay asked Gabriella.

"Its been okay, my free period was interesting, maths was okay and history was fun with Zeke" Gabriella said smiling.

"Good, well we have English together all together later" Sharpay said clapping.

"I'm so glad I have you all with me" Kelsi said with a sigh of relief.

"Us too Kels, last year was shit when we were split up without you" Sharpay pouted.

Suddenly Taylor and another unfamiliar face appeared. "Hey Gabriella, we were wondering if you wanted to work on the maths homework with us, Mrs Johnson can be a bit funny about how its done" Taylor said genuinely.

"That would be nice, how about tomorrow?" Gabriella asked smiling.

"Sure, we'll meet you by the toilets?"

"You wanna sit with us?" Sharpay asked the two girls standing up, she'd never really talked to them but as they were nice to Gabriella she decided they couldn't be too bad.

"Okay sure" Taylor said sitting next to Gabriella, the unfamiliar girl sat next to Sharpay.

"Oh I'm Martha by the way" The girl said smiling politely at Gabriella.

Surprisingly after that the whole table began getting involved with a whole conversation and getting to know each other, oblivious to everyone around them staring, never had a nerd, drama queen or a jock all talked together, let alone sat and laughed together.

"I should probably go and find my locker again, I'll see you in homeroom" Gabriella said truthfully, though she wanted some time to herself first.

As Gabriella reached her locker she swapped books over and shoved them into her bag before she noticed a small door slightly open only a few metres away from her locker, she walked over to it and pushed it open gently and noticing another small door ahead of her, she opened it and found a set of stairs which she walked up quietly in case anyone else was around.

Once she reached the top she gasped to herself, she was stood right in the middle of the school's rooftop and better yet it was covered in flowers and pretty tree's, Gabriella looked around amazed but completely missed the figure in the corner which was absolutely awestruck at this beauty stood in the middle of rooftop.

Gabriella, still unaware of the man, sat down on a small bench near the edge of the wall around the roof, she finally found the chance to pull out her ipod and stuck her headphones in playing her favourite song. Seeing no one else up on the rooftop she began singing softly, getting louder each time she sung her song.

**Everywhere we go we feel like we're strangers  
On the other hand it makes us feel major  
If they never knew then maybe they'll name ya  
Don't let 'em change ya**

**When you finally find what's beautiful**  
**It's so wonderful**  
**When you finally find what's beautiful**  
**It's so wonderful**

**It's so wonderful**

**Exhale, breathe in**  
**Let yourself go for the evening**  
**Break out, screaming**  
**You can lose your voice if you mean it**  
**Can't control the feelin'**  
**And I can't let go, I need it**

**Everywhere we go we feel like we're strangers**  
**On the other hand it makes us feel major**  
**If they never knew then maybe they'll name ya**  
**Don't let 'em change ya**

**When you finally find what's beautiful**  
**It's so wonderful**

Gabriella paused halfway through the song when she heard a clap, she looked up from her ipod to see Mr Bolton sat watching her, his book next to him.

Gabriella gave out a small scream "Oh my god, what are you doing up here?"

"I found a quiet place to read my book until I was joined by someone else" Troy replied with a smirk.

"I'm sorry" Gabriella said blushing.

"Don't apologise, I was enjoying it" He said smiling genuinely, Gabriella blushed even more.

"It's beautiful up here" She said changing the subject completely.

"Most certainly is" Troy replied, his eyes not leaving hers.

"So you like it up here?" She asked curiously, he took a seat next to hers.

"Definitely, might make it a regular hideout"

"You don't mind sharing it right?"

"Ofcourse not, our little secret" He said with a slight smile.

"Sure, I'd better go find my homeroom again, same time tomorrow?" Gabriella asked, actually looking forward to seeing him again.

"Yes, same time tomorrow" He replied as she stood up to go.

"Bye Montez" He called as she walked back down the stairs.

"Bye, Mr Bolton."

* * *

Gabriella walked to room 509 with Sharpay and Ryan eagerly, it was time for her English lesson with a very familiar to her Mr Bolton, who was currently sorting through some papers until he became aware the 3 were stood in the doorway talking, he looked straight up at Gabriella before he tore his eyes away to glance at Sharpay and Ryan too.

"You must be here for English, sit wherever you want we have a small group" He said setting his focus back to Gabriella.

Each row was a row of three so Gabriella took a seat at the front next to Sharpay who saved a seat next to her waiting for Zeke. Ryan sat behind and saved a seat next to him for Kelsi who had just arrived. Next Zeke, Jason and Chad all came bouncing in. Zeke faithfully sat next to his girlfriend whereas Jason and Chad took a seat on the row behind Ryan and Kelsi. Martha and Taylor followed in shortly, being the only two people left into the room Troy stopped them before they sat on a new row.

"Okay so this is all the class, so we're all sat together can you go and sit at the back with the two guys" Troy said pointing to the back where Chad and Jason were sat, Taylor moaned and took her seat next to Chad. Martha was left to sit in the empty seat next to Kelsi.

"So I think you can all tell that I'm new here, I'm Mr Bolton but for such a small group I prefer Troy" He introduced politely.

"Hi Troy" Jason called out, everyone just turned and stared at him.

"Anyway, as I'd really like to get to know you all, its gonna be so hard seeing as there's so many of you" Troy joked.

"But there's only 8 of us" Jason said with a very confused look, the class groaned.

"Actually Jason, there's 9 of us" Taylor pointed out, there was a small sound of laughter.

"Okayy, well I want all of the tables moved and sit in a circle on the floor" Troy commanded.

Once the tables were set out they were all sat in a circle on the floor, Gabriella in between Troy and Sharpay. When no one else was looking Troy leaned closer to Gabriella and whispered "Following me are you, Montez?" His hot breath made her shiver.

"So we're gonna go round the room and introduce ourselves; names, likes and whatever else you want to add in" Troy said changing back to teacher mode before continuing "So, I'm Troy Bolton, I'm 23, I've just moved here from New York, I'm a huge book worm but in High School I was a huge basketball player, won every championship."

Chad, Jason and Zeke all cheered as he said the last bit, all were on the basketball team. "You should play hoops with us sometime" Chad said, holding his basketball in his lap.

"Ah I haven't played in 5 years, I doubt I'll be any good"

Sharpay coughed slightly drawing the attention away from the game her boyfriend played too much of in her eyes.

"I'll go next" Sharpay clapped before giving her speech. "Well as you all know I'm Sharpay Evans, my parents are the proud owners of Lava Springs, I've been in all the school's musical productions so far and my bestfriends are Ryan and Kelsi and my beautiful new friend here Gabriella" Sharpay said hugging Gabriella slightly.

"Montez, you next" Troy said.

"Well I'm Gabriella Montez the new girl, so far I've lived in LA, Philly, Rhode Island and Ohio, I've just moved here from Ohio and I'm just a regular girl."

Then was Chad's turn. "I'm Chad, my life is just hoops, hoops, cheerleaders and more hoops."

The boys all howled and hi fived, Zeke stopped when he saw Sharpay giving him a sharp glare.

Eventually each person took their go to introduce themselves, after they'd put the desks back they made their way back to their original places whilst Troy wrote something on the board.

"Love" He said as he wrote the word on the board "What comes to mind when you hear this word?"

"Girly romancy crap" Chad called out.

"Rom coms" Sharpay and Ryan called out at the same time.

"Happiness" Hearing this made Troy turn around to face the speaker, who of course was Gabriella.

"Why happiness?" He questioned.

"Well, that's what love is supposed to be about two people happy together, nothing else needed, no money, no gifts needed just pure happiness" Gabriella replied, everyone awed and agreed.

"Interesting point Montez, so I'd like you all to come back to tomorrow's lesson with your favourite quote about love, whether its from a movie, book or whatever find the clip on youtube or the scene in the book" Troy said writing it down on the board.

"If we already know one we want to show can we do it now?" Sharpay asked, her eyes lighting up.

"Why not, we have a good 20 minutes left so sure"

Sharpay stood up in front of the class and began to speak "So my quote is short and sweet, its from Rihanna and its If Someone Is Right For You, You Will Know It"

"Good, and why did you pick that one?" Troy questioned

"Well I'm a huge Rihanna fan, but I immediately thought of this quote because it reminds me of me and Zeke, 2 years ago I was the huge bitch of East High and I wouldn't even look at him, but he didn't give up on me and eventually he gained my trust and changed me completely" Sharpay said smiling, Zeke was practically glowing in his chair, his smile stretched from ear to ear and everyone else in the room just smiled at the couple, even Chad.

"Lovely, anyone else have another quote?" Troy asked as Sharpay took her seat next to Zeke and Gabriella, Zeke stuck an arm around his girlfriend and hugged her gently.

"I do" Gabriella spoke up.

"Go ahead Montez" Troy replied, she got up and typed her movie scene into youtube and clicked on the clip. On the board flashed a video of an airport with the voice of Hugh Grant playing in the background.

**"Whenever I get gloomy with the state of the world, I think about the arrivals gate at Heathrow Airport. General opinion's starting to make out that we live in a world of hatred and greed, but I don't see that. It seems to me that love is everywhere. Often, it's not particularly dignified or newsworthy, but it's always there - fathers and sons, mothers and daughters, husbands and wives, boyfriends, girlfriends, old friends. When the planes hit the Twin Towers, as far as I know, none of the phone calls from the people on board were messages of hate or revenge - they were all messages of love. If you look for it, I've got a sneaky feeling you'll find that love actually is all around."**

"So what made you choose this quote?" Troy asked.

"Well the bit about the Twin Towers really touched me, during something as horrific as that it must've been reassuring to hear the voice of the one they love just one more time" Gabriella said, everyone in the room nodded in agreement.

"Very good, well we'll see more next time, I'm afraid its the end of the lesson see you all tomorrow" Troy announced, everyone grabbed their stuff and walked out.

"So what did he mean when he said 'following me are you Montez'?" Sharpay asked curiously.

"Oh, it's a long story" Gabriella said as she blushed, she'd thought no one had heard.

"Good thing social care is so boring then" Sharpay said giggling.

**AN: Please review!:)**


	2. Emotions

The next day Gabriella had found herself even more eager to get to English though she didn't understand why herself. She'd noticed that Troy had been different in the classroom than to when they'd had their previous encounters, he seemed more colder in his lesson than friendly, though what would she know she'd only had one lesson with him so far. She shrugged the idea out of her head and made her way to her homeroom. She finally found an empty seat towards the back close to Sharpay and Ryan again.

"You're Gabster right?" Chad asked sitting on her desk and blocking her view of the front.

"Uh Gabriella, yes" She answered rolling her eyes.

"Well whatever Gabster, I saw you this morning coming out of your house you live opposite me now and my mom just wanted me to make you feel more welcome"

"Ah, your mom is Trisha Danforth right?" Gabriella asked more intrigued.

"Yeah" Chad said with a blush, he and his mom were completely different.

"Did you know our moms were on the phone for two hours last night and they live right next to each other?!" Gabriella exclaimed laughing and trying to lighten the mood.

"And she blames me for the phone bill!" Chad joked, smiling at Gabriella.

"Sit down my young Thespians, it is time for our wonderful class discussion on what made Shakespeare's plays the greatest of his era" Ms Darbus announced, Chad slipped off of Gabriella's desk and on to his own as Ms Darbus droned on in the background. No one seemed to be listening and Gabriella and Chad demonstrated this perfectly as they sat pulling faces at each other and raising their eyebrows as Ms Darbus made a new point that neither understood. When Ms Darbus said 'class discussion' it really meant that it was just her lecturing the class about something they'd forget by their next period.

"So what was that about with Danforth?" Sharpay asked whispering as she shuffled closer to Gabriella.

"Ah just found out that our Mom's know each other and he lives opposite me, that's all" Gabriella replied whispering back.

"Ah, anyways what do you have after English with Bolton?" Sharpay asked curiously.

"Dance, you?"

"Same, hey you wanna get out of here?" Sharpay asked daringly.

"Uhm YES"

Sharpay stuck her hand up interrupting Ms Darbus.

"Yes Miss Evans?" Ms Darbus asked.

"Seeing as Gabriella and I have dance next could we go and get changed, we don't wanna be late for dance and as you know performing arts is very, very important" Sharpay said exaggerating slightly.

"Yes, it is very important feel free to go Ms Evans and Ms Montez" Ms Darbus replied as Gabriella stared in awe.

As they stood up the 10 minute warning bell went off.

"Was that a cell phone?" Ms Darbus snapped.

"No Miss, that was the warning bell" Someone answered, Gabriella and Sharpay quickly rushed out the room.

"How did you do that?" Gabriella asked as they were out of the room.

"Me and Darbus are tight" Sharpay winked laughing slightly as she leaded Gabriella to her dressing room.

"I don't actually have anything to change into for dance" Gabriella said sighing.

"Leave it to me, I'll find something in no time" Sharpay replied unlocking her dressing room as they had arrived. Gabriella gasped as she saw the room.

The walls were a dark pink with a light pink carpet and a white fluffy rug placed in the middle, a huge pink wardrobe stood in a corner full of costumes and clothing, a white dressing table opposite that filled with makeup and a huge mirror with fairy lights around the edges. Also there was a comfy big sofa on one side with two light pink beanbags on the floor next to it and on the wall opposite hung many pictures of past performances.

"So lets find you something good to wear then" Sharpay said with a cheeky smile as she opened up her wardrobe and checked through the huge mass of clothes until she eventually pulled out an outfit that had her approval.

"This one is perfect" Sharpay said as she held it up; a black crop top with black shorts and a white hoody to go with it.

"Are you sure it's suitable?" Gabriella asked as she took it from Sharpay.

A few minutes later Gabriella emerged from Sharpay's dressing room in the outfit with her hair put up in a loose ponytail. Sharpay had already changed into a matching outfit but in pink instead.

"Gabi your figure is so perfect! And oh em gee you have your belly pierced?!" Sharpay gasped.

"Yeah, got it done when I was 16" Gabriella answered with a smile as they made their way up to their English class, earning wolf whistles and stares as they walked through the corridor.

They took their seats as they got to their English class and waited for Troy as he was running quite late.

"Sorry I took so long, I'm gonna have to admit that I did get lost again" He said as everyone laughed, though his face went serious as he noticed Gabriella, she looked absolutely gorgeous.

"So uh today I want you to get into groups of 3 and right a monologue on love which you will perform, it can be about anything you want and as long as you want but today I want you to work with people you don't usually work with, I will consider assessing these depending on how far you get" Troy said as he sat down in the chair and waited for them to sort into groups.

All 9 got up suddenly and glanced at each other until Taylor walked over to Gabriella pulling Chad with her.

"So, Gabriella I'm pretty sure neither of us would have ever worked with lunkhead here before so you wanna work with us?" Taylor asked causing Gabriella to ask at her abruptness.

"Sure" Gabriella replied as she watched the other 6 form into groups around them; Sharpay, Zeke and Kelsi in one group with Ryan, Martha and Jason in another.

"You mind if we go outside to practise ours?" Sharpay asked Troy pouting.

"Yes go ahead"

Ryan's group went to the back of the room leaving Gabriella's at the front near to Troy.

"So how come there's only 9 of us in the group this year?" Chad asked Troy starting a conversation and being distracted from the activity he was meant to be doing.

"Well I think its because Ms Darbus set the groups this year and there's only two groups that took on English, honestly I have no idea man" Troy replied laughing slightly.

"You should come by the gym later and watch us practise, we got a championship game in a few months and we could really use some advice" Chad said ignoring the fact he could hear Taylor calling him in the background.

"Sure, will do but right now I think you should return to your group they seem frustrated" Troy said looking at Gabriella and Taylor who were jokingly frowning, though once she looked away and focused on with her work he took the time to check her out but not in the way everyone else had, he actually respected her. He found himself taking in the details of her body like how her curves went in and out in exactly the right places and how her skin was perfectly tanned.

"Mr Bolton?" Gabriella said snapping him out of his reverie.

"Huh yes Montez?" He replied blushing gently, the slight smile on her face let him know she knew exactly what he'd been thinking about.

"Could we perform ours today, we've finished" Gabriella said also blushing as she realised what Troy was staring at, she quickly glanced away at Sharpay who had her eyebrows raised, she'd also figured out too.

"Sure, is anyone else ready?" Troy asked the rest of the class, all vaguely nodded though they hoped he wouldn't pick them.

"Well Gabriella if you guys wanna start now go ahead!" Troy said as the room went silent, Taylor and Gabriella made their way up to the front of the room, Chad had opted out of performing even though he'd barely helped at all.

Gabriella and Taylor sat on the floor back to back before beginning.

"**It's like you're screaming but no one can hear**" Gabriella started.

"**You almost feel ashamed that someone could be that important**" Taylor then said after.

"**But without them you feel like nothing**" Now was Gabriella's turn.

"**No one will ever understand how much it hurts**"

"**You feel hopeless, like nothing can save you**" Gabriella said, Troy could hear the emotion in her voice, it pained him.

"**And when it's over and it's gone**" Taylor said as it was her turn to speak.

"**You almost wish that you could have all that bad stuff back**" Gabriella said

"**So you could have the good**" They said finishing together. As soon as they were silent the rest of the class applauded.

"Wow" Was all Troy could manage to say.

Gabriella and Taylor took a seat at the back with Chad.

"So anyone else want to perform today, otherwise it will be tomorrow and I'll give you the rest of the time today to finish off" Troy said, though the others just opted to do it the next day.

"Montez, Taylor and Chad just sit and do whatever for the rest of the lesson"

Taylor got up and went off somewhere else leaving Gabriella and Chad on their own to talk.

"So my Mom wants to know if you want me to give you lift to school, we noticed you walking today and yeah" Chad said quite nervously.

"Sure, what time do you leave?" Gabriella asked smiling politely.

"About 8ish, can I talk to you about something Gabster?"

"Yeah, what?"

"Well its uhm about Taylor..."

"What about her?" Gabriella pushed slightly.

"The thing is, I think I've been in love with her since 5th grade and I've never told anyone this so if you tell anyone I will probably kill you" Chad added a smile to show he was joking, he then continued "Could you uh yuno put in a good word for me, she thinks I'm just some 'lunkhead' but I wanna show her I'm more than that"

"I'll give it a try" Gabriella said smiling at Chad, he pulled her into a huge hug.

"You are the best Gabster!"

"Get off me now" She said laughing as she pushed him off of her.

"Gabriella can I talk to you?" Troy came over to ask softly.

"Uhm okay" She replied, a bit taken back as his usual tone in class seemed emotionless.

"You mind Chad?" Troy asked.

"Nah go ahead" Chad said pulling out his phone and began texting.

"So what do you wanna talk about?" Gabriella asked as her and Troy walked over to his desk away from everyone else.

"Well I just wanted to give you your mark for your presentation, I've written down an A* for you and an A for Taylor" Troy said, Gabriella's eyebrows shot up.

"Because I could hear the emotion in your voice and face as you presented it, it didn't seem completely like acting" Troy continued, stumbling over his words slightly which shocked Gabriella as he usually came across as confident to her.

"Honestly its not worth talking about" Gabriella said with a sigh.

"Well I know all teachers say this, but if its anything I can help with I'm here okay?"

The bell rang before Gabriella could reply.

"See you in the rooftop gardens?" Gabriella questioned with a small smile.

"Wouldn't miss it" Troy replied flashing her a dazzling smile.

**Keep Reviewing!:)**

**Disclaimer: I do not own the monologue, it is in the music video to one of my favourite songs and I felt it fits in well with the next few chapters so hope you liked it!**

**Thanks for reading:) **


	3. Confessions

As the bell rang Sharpay and Ryan walked over to Gabriella's desk and waited for her to gather up her books.

"Let's go to dance now!" Ryan cheered.

"Hey guys, are you off to dance?" Martha asked nervously as she approached them.

"Yeah, are you?" Gabriella replied.

"Yeah"

"You wanna walk with us?" Sharpay asked sweetly, shocking even herself she never really socialised with people not like herself.

"Okay sure" Martha replied, not nervous at all now.

The four talked happily as they made their way from English class to their dance class.

As soon as the four walked into the studio Mrs Taylor their dance teacher rushed over to Sharpay and Ryan and gave them a hug.

"Here are my stars, have you been practising during the holidays?" Mrs Taylor asked enthusiastically.

"Always Jen, always!" Ryan squealed happily.

"And who are these two?" Jen asked.

"This is Gabriella, she's new here and this is Martha who used to be in Miss Bates' class" Ryan answered.

"Well welcome girls, I'm Mrs Taylor but any friend of Shar's and Ryans is a friend of mine so call me Jen"

"So we're going to begin by doing our usual warm ups, Shar show the girls how we usually do them" Jen said grabbing attention of the whole room, there were only about 15-18 of them in the class.

Once the warm up exercises were over Mrs Taylor gathered the class round to let them know what to do.

"So, I want you all to work in groups of 4-5 and I want you to create a dance to any song of your choice to get yourselves back into dance again, two groups will work in this studio and the other three groups go into the studio next door, I've brought along 5 docking stations to play your music on so just ask me for any help" Jen explained before the groups formed and some made their way out of the studio.

"So guys what song should we pick?" Sharpay asked her group which consisted of herself, Ryan, Martha and Gabriella.

"How about 'Talk Dirty' by Jason Derulo?" Ryan answered.

"YES!" Sharpay squealed, Martha and Gabriella winced and laughed.

"I'm surprised you even know that song" Martha said to Ryan.

"It's only because Zeke was playing it a while ago" Sharpay replied laughing at Ryan's face.

Sharpay put her ipod into her docking station and pressed play so they could listen to it before starting.

Finally Gabriella paused the song and spoke "I think I have an idea for one part"

Ryan quickly grabbed out his notepad and pen and got ready to write.

"So when it goes **I'm that flight that you get on, international, first class seat on my lap girl, riding comfortable, cause I know what the girl them need, New York to Haiti, I got lipstick stamps on my passport, make it hard to leave**" Gabriella sang whilst imitating quite a sexual move.

"Yes that is perfect and your voice!" Sharpay squealed as Ryan wrote down what she had done.

"How about we do this during the chorus?" Martha said adding in some more moves.

"Yes, yes yes this is coming along perfectly!" Ryan clapped.

"Nice moves coming along here girls" Jen complimented as she walked past, the girls just beamed happily.

"So should we run through it?" Gabriella asked.

Just as Gabriella, Sharpay and Martha ran through the dance, Mr Bolton wandered through the studio, clearly lost again but this was unaware to Gabriella, he secretly glanced at the way her hips were shaking he was mesmerised. Once they'd finished their piece everyone in the studio applauded loudly making Gabriella and Martha blush furiously but Sharpay just smiled. Gabriella's eyes wandered across the room to check what everyone else had been doing when her eyes stumbled across Mr Bolton who was now talking to Mrs Taylor though his eyes seemed to be glancing at her. She blushed even more when she realised he'd seen the whole thing.

* * *

"Do you guys mind if I go and uh get my books ready for my next lessons?" Gabriella asked standing up.

"God Gabi you're so much more organised than us" Taylor said laughing.

"Make sure you meet us in homeroom at 3 for the mall though?" Taylor continued.

"Will do" Gabriella said as she walked away.

* * *

"Thought you'd never arrive" Troy teased as Gabriella skipped up the stairs towards him.

"Wouldn't miss it" She beamed as she took a seat next to him. Obviously he had a book in his hand.

"Did you have a good dance lesson?" Troy smirked as he asked innocently, though the thoughts in his head weren't so innocent as he pictured her again.

"Yes actually I did" She said with a little smile.

"You been dancing for long?"

"Uh since I was about 6, when my dad left my mum and I, I got into dance seeing as it was the only thing that reminded me of the good times" Gabriella answered her voice breaking a little bit.

"Oh, I'm sorry for asking" Troy said seriously, a frown formed on his face at the thought of her being upset.

"No you didn't know" She reassured him, almost as if she were comforting him.

"What dance do you do?"

"Oh I do anything, I've done street dance, ballroom dancing, a few Latin dances and some others" She said with a shrug, even though Troy was amazed.

"Wow, maybe you could teach me one day?"

"How about tomorrow or whenever?" Gabriella suggested.

"Tomorrow sounds good to me, same time, same place with my dancing shoes" Troy said with a wink, Gabriella felt butterflies in her stomach.

"Anyway Mr Secretive, what made you move to Albuquerque?" Gabriella asked wriggling her eyebrows.

"Needed a change I guess, my past isn't particularly the greatest" Troy said with a sigh.

"And running away was the best idea?" Gabriella asked causing Troy to turn his head as if he were ashamed.

"You have no idea what happened" Troy almost growled.

"So tell me, you tell me your story and I'll tell you mine?" Gabriella pleaded unaware that she was rubbing his back comfortingly, though Troy didn't fail to notice.

"Well uh my girlfriend of 5 years cheated on me the whole time we were in a relationship with a million different guys, the girl I thought was so perfect for me, the one I thought I would settle down with, anyway about 3 months after my dad started seeing her and now they're in a relationship" Troy said with anger in his voice.

"You still love her?" Gabriella asked softly

"No, I stopped loving a long time ago" Troy said coldly.

Gabriella quickly pulled her hand away and they both sat their in awkward silence for a moment until Gabriella spoke up.

"Well I uh better go now, it was nice talking to you" Gabriella said awkwardly as she stood up and started walking towards the stairs.

"Gabriella, wait?" Troy almost begged as he stood up and pulled her back gently, "I never got to hear your story" He finished.

"Well not much to say, my dad left without so much as a word when I was 5, to this day I'll never really understand why we had a perfect life, when my mum went on business trips it would just be my dad and I and we'd have so much fun, whether we went out or stayed in, he's what interested me in ballroom where he'd stand me up on my tippy toes and he'd teach me the waltz or the quickstep or maybe a Charleston" Gabriella let out a long sigh before continuing.

"And when he left I had a huge hole in my heart for years, everyday I would ask my Mom 'is Daddy coming back today' but all she would ever say is 'one day sweetie', that was the only thing I could hold onto until eventually one day I gave up asking and she gave up trying to convince me he still loved us and that one day he'd come back for us" Gabriella whispered out as she broke down, Troy immediately pulled her close and wrapped her into a huge embrace, neither moving for what felt like eternity.

"Sounds like neither of us have had very good pasts" Troy said with a gentle chuckle, Gabriella laughed a little before drying her eyes still in Troy's arms.

Suddenly the warning bell went off shocking them both, Gabriella quickly pulled apart from Troy as she jumped, Troy could only laugh at her reaction.

"See you tomorrow?" Gabriella asked with a smirk.

"Wouldn't miss it" Troy called after her as he watched her walk back down the stairs, he could feel himself slowing falling for this girl.

**AN: Keep Reviewing, Reviews make me happy and write faster;) xo **


	4. The Waltz

**AN: So sorry that I haven't updated in a while, went away and didn't take my laptop so couldn't write anything. Hope you enjoy!:)**

Finally school was over and the whole group had made their way to the mall together in two cars. Gabriella had actually found herself surprised. She'd begun to like East High and she was quite glad she had moved this time, it almost felt like she'd been there longer than 3 days. She'd grown to love her little group which consisted of; Sharpay, Ryan, Kelsi, Zeke, Chad, Taylor, Martha and Jason, some of who had never even given each other so much as a glance and now they'd all grown close during the week.

"So Chad, when are you gonna tell her?" Gabriella asked quietly as they entered the mall.

"Later" Chad replied back quite calmly. Gabriella squeezed his arm gently before being pulled away by Sharpay to check something out.

"Gabi we need to get you some new clothes!" Sharpay said dragging her into a clothes store. The other girls and Ryan followed happily leaving Chad, Zeke and Jason trailing behind reluctantly.

"I really need some new day dresses, maybe for school" Gabriella said thoughtfully.

"Ooh how about this one? Or this one?" Sharpay asked holding up a range of different coloured dresses before handing them to Gabriella.

"Keep hold of them to try on in a minute, lets find you some more clothes" Sharpay said handing Gabriella a few more different outfits before finding some for herself.

Finally Gabriella and Sharpay made their way to the changing rooms where everyone else seemed to be hanging around. Gabriella chose a changing room and went inside trying on some new outfits. A few minutes later Gabriella emerged from changing room wearing a light blue skater dress with an elastic waist and a white lace neckline, it looked perfect on her with the way it complimented her slightly tanned skin and nice curves.

"Gabs that looks beautiful!" Kelsi complimented nicely.

"Yeah Gabster suits you" Chad piped in.

A while later after a lot of changing and buying the group made their way to Subway carrying many bags of shopping each though Gabriella had the most as Sharpay had insisted "You need new clothes for a new place". Gabriella had bought a few pairs of jeans, 4 pairs of shorts, 3 new tops and 5 new dresses as well as lingerie.

Chad gave Gabriella a slight nod to let her know he was putting his plan into action, she shot him a comforting smile to reassure him. A few minutes had passed and everyone now had their food and was happily eating. Chad took this time to say what no one was expecting him to say.

"Everyone I have an announcement" Chad yelled bravely as he stood up, everyone in the restaurant turned and stared before he continued.

"Taylor McKessie, will you please honour me in being my girlfriend? I'm not the lunkhead you think I am and its not always Basketball 24/7 with me, in fact I have been in love with you since 5th grade and I can't imagine a day without seeing you or just being near you whether we talk or not, I'm in love with you Taylor McKessie".

Taylor was silent for a moment before replying "Uh yes, well I'll consider it" She said with a glint in her eye "How about we take a walk?"

"Sounds good, back in 20 guys" Chad said with the widest smile on his face as he and Taylor got up and walked out, both forgetting about their food.

"Well I think he deserves someone like her" Kelsi said with a smile on her face.

"Me too, I know he's labelled as a 'Player' around school but when have we ever seen him with another cheerleader or any other girl?" Martha asked curiously.

"Good point, we haven't" Sharpay said thoughtfully, wondering why she hadn't noticed I mean come on she usually noticed everything.

"You think they're coming back soon?" Jason asked licking his lips whilst staring at their food which they'd left.

"I don't think they'll mind if you eat it Jason" Gabriella said, the whole group laughed at him as he practically attacked it.

"Yeah I don't think they'll be coming back" Martha said showing everyone a text she'd received.

**Tay: Chad and I won't be coming back, he's giving me a lift home see you all tomorrow, Tay x **

"Hey Martha do I have your number?" Gabriella asked.

"Uh no, give me your phone and I'll type it in"

"Can you all do the same, I'd like to get everyone's numbers we should all hang out at the weekend or something?" Gabriella suggested as her phone was passed round.

"Fab idea Gabi" Sharpay said excitedly.

* * *

The next lunchtime Gabriella hurried away from her friends excitedly to meet Troy. Today she would teach Troy how to dance, she'd chosen to wear a short white dress with leggings, something pretty but casual. Though when he saw her his face completely lit up, yes he'd fallen for this girl in only a matter of days.

"Excited about today Troy?" She asked teasing him slightly as she approached him in their secret place. She set her bag down and pulled out her ipod and docking station.

"Spending my time dancing with a beautiful, clever girl like you? Of course I am" He answered truthfully making her blush a little.

"So should we start with the waltz?"

"Sure, sounds perfect"

Gabriella took hold of his hand and pulled him close to her.

"So, first your hold needs to be stronger, the male always leads" Gabriella instructed before adjusting his hold.

"Like this?" He asked holding her closer and straightening out his posture.

"Yes, so now let's just practise moving gently" Gabriella commanded though she was getting pretty distracted, his smell was intoxicating especially when she was so close to him. For a minute they just moved around the rooftop with Gabriella muttering 1,2,3,4 as they waltz around, the way they moved together was just so natural.

"You ready to try some spins now?"

"I'm ready for anything" He teased.

"Because the waltz is very beautiful it has to be slow and graceful, so when you spin me it should be slow, nothing like a cha cha cha spin" Gabriella said before Troy spun her gently.

"Now pull me back" She commanded.

As Troy did so he pulled her even closer than he was meant to.

To Gabriella's surprise he leant down and whispered "Go on a date with me?"

With that he kissed her.

**Keep Reviewing!:)**


	5. The Book

Gabriella responded immediately by kissing back, she moved her hand round to the back of his neck and began teasing the hair which caused him to groan slightly into the kiss. A few minutes later Gabriella reluctantly pulled away with a small smile forming on her face.

"I will consider going on a date with you" She teased and Troy pouted playfully.

"Okay, I will" She said giving in, his face lit up immediately.

"How about Saturday, I'll text you the address?" He asked politely.

"I'm guessing that's a hint for me to give you my number?" She joked raising her eyebrow.

"That would be nice" Troy said blushing slightly.

"Have you got your phone with you?"

"Here" He replied handing it to her so she could type her number in, she typed it in quickly before handing it back.

She placed a small kiss to his cheek and whispered "Text me?" before she walked back down the stairs leaving him in a daze, wondering if he was dreaming or not.

Later that afternoon Gabriella felt her phone vibrate during the Social care class with Sharpay.

**?: Hey it's Troy xxx**

**Gabriella: I figured;) though texting me while you have a class? Tut tut Troy xxx**

**Troy: Well texting me back while you're in a class Montez?;) xxx**

Gabriella felt herself smiling as she continued to text back.

**Gabriella: Touché Bolton xxx**

**Troy: So what class are you in?xxx**

**Gabriella: Health and Social care xxx**

**Troy: Fun for you. My 9th graders are sitting in silence and writing essays on Socio Linguistic Maturation xxx **

**Gabriella: Wow sounds fun for them, though I'm pretty sure at least one of them will be on their phones if not more xxx**

**Troy: Gotta go Brie, I may have some detentions to issue;) xxx**

Gabriella felt her heart melt when he called her Brie, even over a text it made her feel special. Sure 'Montez' was an okay nickname, Brie felt more loving.

**Gabriella: Well have fun with that xxx **

**Troy: I will xxx **

"So who are you texting?" Sharpay asked nosily.

"Just a friend"

"You know you've been texting for like half the lesson" Sharpay said with a little laugh.

"Ooh shit, what question are you on?"

"Question 7 and I don't know the answer Gabi, helppppp" Sharpay said with a pout.

"Emergency contraception is basically the morning after pill Shar, just explain that" Gabriella replied as she began to focus on her own work.

"Thanks Gabi, so what are you doing Friday after school?"

"Uh nothing that I know of why?"

"Well the guys are all practising for their first game back and you should totally come, it'll be me, you, Kels, Tay and maybe Martha going to watch, Ryan has some big project to work on with Ms Darbus so he can't come"

"Does Ryan play basketball?" Gabriella asked, Sharpay just laughed.

"Oh my gosh no, his world is basically dancing I can never imagine him even playing basketball" Sharpay said laughing.

"So what's the big project?"

"Not sure yet, Ry said he'll tell me and Kels on Sunday so you should totally come round my parents will love you"

"Okay, sounds good" Gabriella said with a smile.

The rest of the lesson went quickly as Gabriella and Sharpay gossiped and chatted throughout the remaining time, Gabriella felt tempted to tell Sharpay about her Lunch Time activity but decided against it in the end as she wasn't sure how she'd react. Though she knew Sharpay had a sneaking suspicion in her mind anyway.

"Oooh Shar there you are, Ryan and Zeke said they'll wait for you outside the music block instead of your car today for some reason I can't remember" Chad said as he waited for Gabriella and Sharpay by the door as they walked over to him.

"Oh okay thanks Chad, bye Gabi, bye Chad" Sharpay said giving them her signature wave before strutting off to meet Zeke and Ryan.

"So you want a lift home, I need to drop Tay off too if you don't mind" Chad said smiling as he said Taylors name.

"Okay sure, but first I need to get some books out of my locker"

"Oh thats fine we gotta meet Tay by her locker anyway"

They finally made it to Gabriella's locker. Chad patiently waited for her to get her books out when he saw Troy, one of his favourite teachers.

"Hey Troy!" He said calling him over, Gabriella turned around immediately.

"Oh hey man, hey Gabriella" Troy replied cooly as he walked towards them.

Gabriella continued to get her books out while Chad talked quietly to Troy.

"You mind helping me practise later man, here's the address and I could really do with extra workouts" Chad almost pleaded.

"Sure, no worries man just make sure my English essay is completed in time it's more important than Hoops!"

"But not as important as Taylor" Chad added more loudly, Gabriella shut her locker and rolled her eyes at Chad.

"We get the point Chadster" She said teasing him by using the nickname he usually called her but with his name instead.

"Chadster?" Troy asked raising his eyebrows at the giggling pair.

"Silly nicknames, anyway Chad we should probably go and find Taylor before she finds someone else to get a ride home with" Gabriella said, she began to laugh when Chad ran quickly down the hallway leaving Troy and Gabriella alone.

"He's so whipped" Troy muttered laughing.

"I should probably go after him, I'll text you when I get in?"

"Good, bye Brie" He said softly as she walked away to find Chad.

* * *

"Thanks for the ride Chad" Taylor said kissing his cheek softly before she got out of the car.

"Bye Gabs!" She said after, hugging Gabriella as she got out of the backseat to sit in the now vacant passenger seat.

"See you tomorrow Tay" Gabriella called after Taylor began to walk away.

"Bye baby!" Chad called as well.

"Baby already Chad?" Gabriella asked laughing.

"You're just jealous because no one calls you baby" Chad teased before adding seriously "Though is there anyone you've seen that you like, I could always put in a good word for you."

"Nope, no one" Gabriella said, though she turned away as she blushed.

"Hmp I would question you but we're here now so I'll leave it until tomorrow" Chad said parking his car outside his house.

"See you tomorrow Chad" Gabriella said getting out of the car.

"Byeeee Gabster" He replied as he watched her walk to her house.

* * *

Gabriella sighed as she walked into her kitchen after finishing off some homework, her mother had gone on a business trip already and they hadn't even been living there for a week yet, typical. Sometimes Gabriella cherished these times alone though, it was something that had never really bothered her it was only the fact that her Mom had left a note instead of at least calling her to tell that bothered Gabriella.

Mija,

_So sorry I had to go already, gone to Canada for a business meeting I'll be back sunday. You know where the credit card is if you need it._

_Mom x x _

She poured herself a cup of tea with 2 sugars, her favourite, and walked back into her living room and turning the TV on. Once she'd flicked through the channels and decided on a re run of _How I Met Your Mother _she went through her white tote bag (her school bag) and found her phone again which had been buried right at the bottom.

**Troy: Hey Brie, you get home safely?xxx **

Gabriella smiled slightly at how concerned he was, even though she lived about 10 minutes away.

**Gabriella: Yes I got home fine xxx **

He replied almost instantly.

**Troy: Good, so are you doing much?xxxx **

**Gabriella: Not really, just watching tv you?xxxx**

**Troy: Ah just unpacking some leftover boxes xxxxx**

**Gabriella: I've unpacked and settled in already aha xxxx **

**Troy: I've almost done it, anyway I'm heading out now I'll text later xxxx**

**Gabriella: Okay bye xxxx **

Gabriella locked her phone again and went up to her room, deciding that some people watching would be a good thing to do. It had always been a good way to pass the time and the day was beautiful outside. She sat drinking her cup of tea and gazing out of her window at the road outside of her house. Not much had really happened though, a few cars parked and left and a few people walked past but nothing spectacular until she saw a black Saab pull up and a familiar looking man got out. Troy. He walked up to Chad's house and knocked eagerly on the door unaware he was being watched by the girl who currently seemed to be taking up a huge space in his mind. Chad opened the door and redirected him to his back yard where his basketball net was. They eventually went round to the back of the house where Gabriella could see them no more from where she was standing. Seeing as though she had nothing else to do she decided to investigate.

She closed her front door gently and crept over to the Danforth's house, she peered over the tallish fence and could just see the top of their heads but she was still able to make out the fact that they were indeed playing basketball.

"Gabriella?" Mrs Danforth asked curiously as she noticed the girl peering over the fence whilst she brought the rubbish out.

"I uhm hi Mrs Danforth, I was just wondering if Chad was in that was all" Gabriella stuttered slightly.

"Ah please call me Trisha, Gabi and yes he's in but he's training for his upcoming game so it's probably best not to disturb him, you know what boys can be like" She said laughing slightly.

"Okay well I'll probably come back later then if thats okay"

"That's fine, do you want me to tell him you dropped by?"

"Oh no its perfectly alright, I'll text him if I really need him, thank you again" Gabriella said blushing as she walked back to her house.

**Gabriella: You're at Chads?xxxx **

A few minutes later Gabriella finally got a reply.

**Troy: Uh yeah how do you know?xxxx**

**Gabriella: Saw you going into his house, I live right opposite xxxx **

**Troy: Wow, your house looks beautiful xxxx**

**Gabriella: You can come over when you're finished if you want?xxxx**

**Troy: I'll be over in 10?xxxx**

**Gabriella: Sounds good xxxx **

Gabriella felt herself smile as she began to tidy her homework books up and her now empty cup of tea. She quickly checked her appearance in the big hallway mirror, she fluffed up her hair slightly and added a bit of gloss to her lips when she heard a knock at the door. She rushed to the door and opened it slightly.

"Hi" She greeted before she opened the door wider for him to come in.

"Hello" He said quite quietly, a smile formed on his face as he took a step in.

"You want something to drink?"

"Uh a coffee please" Troy said taking a seat on her sofa, getting comfy straight away.

"Make yourself at home then" She teased as she walked into the kitchen, a minute or so later she walked back into her living room with his coffee and another cup of tea for her. Despite the TV still playing more re runs of How I Met Your Mother, Troy's focus seemed to be somewhere completed different. His book.

"Another book?" She asked noting that it wasn't The Great Gatsby.

"Yeah, The Notebook"

"Oh I've seen the film, its good" Gabriella complimented.

"The book is completely different to the film, here you should read it" He said handing it to her.

"But you're in the middle of reading it?" She half asked half stated.

"I've read it a million times before, despite it being quite girly"

"Thank you" Gabriella said with a smile as she sat next to him.

* * *

Gabriella began to get ready for her date with Troy, he'd told her nothing too fancy but nothing too casual. Helpful, he wouldn't tell her where it is and just said he'd pick her up at the location he'd given her the address for, like she'd said helpful.

In the end she went for her blue and white skater dress that she'd bought with her gang the other day, she put on some white wedges and put a pair of flats in her bag just to be sure.

Now that she'd picked up her new car from the store she was on her way to the mystery location. As she drove she thought about Troy a lot, the way he looked at her made her feel weak at the knees as she was pretty sure no one else looked at her that way.

**~Flashback, Friday Basketball Practise~**

**"I'm so glad you could come Gabi" Sharpay said as she greeted her friend.**

**"Me too, this should be fun" Gabriella said as they took their seats on the bleachers, not too far away from the boys.**

**Eventually Kelsi and Taylor made their way over to Gabriella and Sharpay and took their seats next to them. A few times they'd cheer on their specific boy but apart from that they just gossiped.**

**Until a very handsome looking Troy walked through the gym wearing shorts and a thin white polo, the boys all greeted them and after that he began coaching them and giving them tips on what was going well and showing them how to improve.**

**About halfway through the boys all took a break, walking over to the bleachers to greet the girls and Troy decided to tag along.**

**"Heeeey did you see me out there Tay?" Chad asked taking a seat next to her and kissing her cheek.**

**"Yes Chad" She said giggling but rolling her eyes.**

**Troy's eyes met Gabriellas and for a minute neither dared to break eye contact until Sharpay began to talk to Gabriella about something theatrical related though Troy still watched, fairly amused.**

**"So as well as being a book enthusiast, a good dancer and a basketball coach are there anymore surprises?" Gabriella asked Troy quietly as around her her friends began to talk. **

**"Nope thats about it, though I can make a mean roast" **

**"Maybe I'll have to try some time"**

**"Maybe you will" He said, giving her that stare again, the one that made her knees weak and her breath hitch.**

**~End Of Flashback~ **

Gabriella finally reached her destination and noticed Troy there already, they were in an empty car park near a forest.

"Hi beautiful" Troy said as he watched her get out of her car.

"Hello" She said smiling as she walked over to him.

"You ready to go?"

"Sure am."


	6. The Lake

Before they could leave, Troy quickly pulled a picnic basket out of his backseat and locked his car.

"I hope you like picnics" Troy said as he carried the basket in one hand and took her hand in the other.

"Do we have to walk through the forest?" Gabriella asked squeezing his hand and unaware that she was caressing his thumb.

"Yes" Troy replied with a cute grin.

"You better have cocktail sausages in there then"

"Guess you'll find out when we get there" Troy teased as he held her hand tighter.

After 10 minutes of walking they came to a small, secluded lake with sand banks around the edges. Troy set the picnic basket down and opened it, he pulled out a large blanket and set out a few candles before lighting them.

"Take a seat" Troy said as he sat down on the blanket.

Gabriella sat opposite, once she was sat she opened the basket and glanced in.

"I think I see cocktail sausages in there" She said with a giggle.

"Get out of there" Troy said laughing as he swatted her away, she pouted before he sighed and gave in "I guess we should start eating then."

Troy brought out two plastic plates and plastic glasses, he then pulled out the plates of food and set them between the two.

* * *

"Favourite actor?" Troy asked curiously.

"Ooh Ryan Gosling definitely"

"Favourite actress?" Troy asked next.

"Mila Kunis"

"Good choice"

"Oh I know, I'm a smart one" Gabriella replied jokingly.

"Sure you are" Troy teased.

"Hey, you wanna go in the water?" Gabriella asked causing Troy to raise his eyebrows. Gabriella stood up and removed her shoes.

"Do I have a choice?" He answered taking his shoes off before standing up.

"Nope, not really. Last one there smells really bad" Gabriella said racing down to the lake as quickly as she could.

"That is so old Montez" Troy said as he watched her get to the lake just before he did.

"Only because you lost Bolton" She said poking her tongue out at him, he splashed her softly.

"No way I let you win" He said pouting as she splashed him harder.

"Oh you did not" Gabriella said as he splashed her again, she responded right back by throwing herself at him he picked her up by the waist immediately and attacked her mouth. She wound her arms around his neck and played with his hair at the back on his neck. Gabriella pulled away from him in need of oxygen, Troy moved his mouth along her jawline planting kisses where his mouth went all the way down her neck. She moaned involuntarily and arched into him, Troy eventually walked them over to the sand bank and laid Gabriella down carefully on it as he laid beside her.

"Tonight has been so perfect" Gabriella whispered softly.

"Yes, it has" Troy said kissing her hair gently.

They stayed silent for a while longer before they sat up causing Gabriella to shiver at the loss of heat, Troy noticed this and took his blazer off and gave it to her to wear.

"Thank you" She said giving him a quick kiss on his lips before she put the blazer on.

Disrupting their sweet moment Troy's phone began to ring.

"Sorry" He apologised before answering.

"Hello?" He asked sounding quite irritated.

Gabriella could vaguely hear a woman on the other end "Hi sweetie."

"Hi Mom" Troy replied sheepishly as he blushed, avoiding eye contact with Gabriella.

"Yes Mom I am on a date, yes with the girl I told you about and yes Mom she can hear you"

"Mom I'm going now, I'll call you later" Troy said hanging up before he turned to Gabriella.

"I'm sorry about that" He apologised.

"Its fine" She said with a cute smile.

"You wanna go back now, it's getting pretty dark" Troy said glancing at his watch "Shit its 11 already".

"We should probably go."

Troy packed the basket back up and offered his arm to Gabriella who took it gratefully as they walked back through the forest.

"How did you find this place then?" Gabriella asked curiously as they walked.

"Well my grandparents used to live here in Albuquerque and I'd always come here when I wanted to think or get away"

"Well I like it, we should come here again"

"We will"

Finally they reached their cars. "Here we are then" Troy pointed out.

"Thank you for tonight, I've had the best night"

Both were silent for a moment, neither wanting to leave. Gabriella reached up and put her arms around Troy's neck, he lowered his head and their lips met passionately.

"I'll uh see you on Monday" Gabriella said as she pulled away and straightened herself up.

"Can't wait".

**Sorry its so short but I have so much coursework to do so this will have to do for now. Hope you enjoyed it! Keep Reviewing, reviews make me happy;)**


	7. Chapter 7

Gabriella approached the Evans' mansion excitedly, they'd invited her round for Ryan's huge announcement and a sleepover as her Mom was still away. Gabriella gave a quick knock on the door which was immediately opened.

"Hi Darling, you must be Gabriella, I'm Darby Evans Sharpay's mom" Darby said pulling Gabriella into a huge hug once she was inside.

"Nice to meet you Darby" Gabriella said politely.

"Please, call me mom or Dar, everyones waiting for you out back" Darby said leading Gabriella to their garden, down a long hallway and through a numerous amount of rooms they finally made it outside.

"Gabi!" Sharpay said leaping up and hugging her friend.

"Hey Shar, hey everyone" Gabriella replied as she set her bag on the floor before hugging Sharpay back, everyone else greeted Gabriella after.

Gabriella and Sharpay both took their seats next to each other in the huge lawn chairs.

"Mommy make sure Sofia takes Gabi's bag to my room and you did welcome Gabi properly didn't you?"

"Of course I did darling" Darby said going back inside the house before reappearing a few minutes later with Sofia who took Gabriella's bag away to Sharpay's room.

"Thanks Sof" Sharpay said with a huge smile, sometimes Sofia could be more like a mom to Sharpay than Darby was.

"So now that we're all here I'd like to make a huge announcement" Ryan said standing up eagerly to Sharpay, Gabriella, Kelsi, Zeke, Chad, Taylor, Martha, Jason and his parents.

"So as you all know I had a meeting with Ms Darbus the other day, we have decided to hold our charity fundraiser concert next April, it will be a huge concert held in a large venue which is yet to be chosen, and we will need singers, dancers, actors, gymnasts and as many people as possible"

"Sign us up!" Sharpay said as she held hers and Kelsi's hand up.

"Us too" Taylor and Martha added straight after.

"Zeke" Sharpay said pouting.

"Fine, me and Jason are in too" Zeke said grinning at Jason's reaction.

Now only Gabriella and Chad were yet to answer.

"I don't know" Gabriella said sighing.

"Please Gabi, with talent like yours it could be a huge success" Sharpay pleaded.

"Okay I'm in, but only if Chad is too"

Everyone now turned to Chad.

"Thanks Gabi" He replied poking his tongue out at her "Fine I'll do it, as long as there's no leotards".

"Yes, this is great" Ryan said as all the Evans' clapped.

"No Ry, it's fabulous" Sharpay corrected, everyone rolled their eyes.

"Sure, now we will be having a meeting about it on Tuesday at 4 in our homeroom and I would like you all to attend so we can all get signed up straight away" Ryan said before taking his seat.

After Vance Evans adjusted his sons hat he and his wife said their goodbyes to their guests and children before leaving the house off on one of their travels.

"So who's up for some drinks?" Sharpay asked standing up, everyone obviously cheered.

"Wait Shar, we need to head back to Chads, Troy said he'd give us some tips for our big game next week" Zeke informed.

"Give him the address he can come here for practise we have a court" Sharpay replied, Gabriella began to feel giddy.

"Okay I'll give him a call" Chad said standing up, he quickly walked away from the group to call Troy. Chad came back a few minutes later "He's on his way".

"Shar do you have anything to drink?" Gabriella asked surprising herself.

"Sure got loads, come on girls lets leave the guys to do their ball flinging thing" Sharpay said leading the girls back into her kitchen, the guys all yelled "It's basketball" at her.

"So I have wine, vodka, cider you name it. What do my girls want?" Sharpay asked looking at her drinks.

"Maybe not vodka seeing as we have school tomorrow but do you mind if I have some wine?" Gabriella asked.

"Red or white?"

"Uh white please" Gabriella asked.

"I'll have a white wine too" Kelsi said next.

"Same for me" Taylor added in next Martha just said "Same".

Once the wine had been poured out each girl grabbed a glass but Sharpay stopped them from drinking to order a toast.

"To friendship" She said with a huge smile.

"To friendship" The girls all repeated.

A few minutes later the girls' gossip session was rudely interrupted by the guys all running through the kitchen to the front door to greet Troy.

"Hey man" Chad said excitedly as he opened the door.

"Hi Troy" Jason said next with the same level of excitement.

"Troy my man!" Zeke greeted clapping him on the back.

"Hey T!" Ryan said more normally than the others.

In the kitchen the girls were all in hysterics "Gosh they sound girlier than us!"Gabriella stated as she laughed. The girls laughed even more when the guys walked in, Jason and Zeke by Troy's side practically linking arms with him.

"Hello ladies" Troy said with a slight wave as he walked past though his eyes were focused on Gabriella.

"Hi" They all cooed except Gabriella who just smiled.

"Come on girls lets go out with them, I need a tan" Sharpay ordered causing the girls all to groan as she dragged them out.

"Hey Zee" Sharpay said as she walked over to a topless Zeke and kissed him. Taylor walked over to Chad and Kelsi walked over to Ryan leaving Gabriella and Martha laughing awkwardly as they sat down.

"Being single sucks" Martha said moaning as she drank.

"Amen to that sister" Gabriella joked as they clinked glasses.

"Hey you should go and talk to Jason" Gabriella suggested to Martha.

"Really, he wouldn't go for me"

"Martha I said talk not fuck" Gabriella teased before turning more serious "Though he's totally into you look at the way he's looking at you!"

"Really?"

"Yes now go" Gabriella demanded pushing Martha up and smiling as she watched them talk.

"Well hey there cupid" Troy teased as he sat down next to Gabriella.

"Hello" Gabriella replied smiling before taking a drink.

"You look beautiful" Troy whispered in a low voice, Gabriella blushed gently.

"You'd look better if you took your shirt off" Gabriella teased.

"You know I had a lot of fun yesterday" Troy said truthfully.

"Really? Well yesterday wasn't so bad for me either" Gabriella said smiling.

"I gotta whip these guys into shape, talk later?" Troy asked before standing up and pulling his thin white tee over his head, Gabriella felt her breath hitch.

"Definitely"

Troy flashed Gabriella a big grin before turning to the guys who were surrounded by their girlfriends "Okay guys, if you're gonna win this game on Friday then we gotta get to work!"

The boys all cheered and the girls walked away and sat by Gabriella.

"What team?!" Chad yelled.

"Wildcats!" The guys all chanted back

"What team?" Chad yelled even louder.

"Wildcats!" The guys chanted louder before yelling "Getcha head in the game."

The girls all rolled their eyes as they began to watch the game.

"Wait we need the girls, we're an odd number" Jason said before recounting, this time he forgot to count himself "Oh there's 4 of us never mind"

"No Jason, you were right the first time" Zeke said patting his buddy on the back.

"You can count me out" Martha said as she began to relax.

"Me too" Taylor said next.

"Come on Shar, come on Kels lets have a go" Gabriella said laughing as she stood up, she helped pull Shar and Kelsi up before they walked over to the boys.

"So 2 teams of 4, we need 2 captains" Troy instructed, he couldn't help but smile at Gabriella.

"We'll be the captains" Chad said pointing at himself and Troy.

"Okay sure" Troy said agreeing.

"So I pick Gabster, Zeke and Pay" Chad said fistbumping Zeke as they made their way over to his team.

"Okay I have Jason, Ryan and Kels" Troy said clapping.

"You're on Bolton" Chad said taking the ball.

"Oh your teams going down Danforth" Troy argued back.

Halfway through the game Troys team seemed to be doing quite well, well Jason and Troy were as Kelsi and Ryan began playing another game involving their mouths much similar to Zeke and Sharpay which left Troy and Jason vs Gabriella and Chad.

"Come on team Chadriella!" Taylor yelled encouragingly.

Gabriella managed to steal the ball from Troy and scored, making the points even.

"Yes Gabster!" Chad said hi fiving Gabriella.

"Woo go Gabi!" Sharpay yelled once she'd removed her mouth from Zekes.

"Okay Gabster we can win this" Chad cheered.

Gabriella quickly grabbed the ball from Jason and passed to Chad who then scored, making them one ahead. Next Jason stole the ball from Chad and scored making them even yet again.

"Next point is the decider" Chad said feeling tired now.

"Okay 1 minute break while we talk tactics" Gabriella said pulling Chad away from Troy and Jason.

"So what's our plan?" Gabriella whispered.

"Fake right and break left?"

"No too obvious, we need a distraction" Gabriella said thoughtfully.

"You distract Troy" Chad suggested.

"Why me?"

"He's totally into you!"

"Chad!" Gabriella said hitting his arm playfully.

"Ouch, fine whatever happens happens" Chad said rubbing his arm before they took their places.

"What team?" Gabriella imitated.

"Chadriella!" Chad replied laughing as the game started.

Gabriella quickly grabbed the ball from Jason again before turning to find Chad though she bumped straight into Troy and dropping the ball. The two ended up on the floor with Gabriella on top of Troy giggling.

"Enjoying this?" Gabriella whispered quietly, she saw Troy hold in a small groan. Neither had realised that Chad managed to score.

"Maybe" Troy said winking, Gabriella rolled off laughing as she lay on her back with Troy laughing with her.

Troy quickly got up and turned to Gabriella and pulled her up quickly, Gabriella relished the feeling of his hand in hers feeling slightly disappointed when he let go.

Chad ran over to Gabriella and picked her up before spinning her around "We won Gabster!"

"Woooooo" Gabriella yelled as she was spun around, finally Chad put her down and made his way over to Taylor.

"Gabiiiiiii" Sharpay said as she made her way over to her friend.

"Shar!" Gabriella replied laughing even more as Sharpay hugged her.

"You guys make a hot couple" Sharpay whispered into Gabriella's ear, Troy heard and began smirking to himself.

"Oh I know" He said causing both the girls to turn around.

**AN; Keep Reviewing! **

**Also check out my new story The Notebook!:)**


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